It's Cold Outside
by ghaaaaaaaaaa
Summary: Blake was a faunus who had been with the White Fang. She was everything Weiss' family told her to hate and fear, so she did. When they met on the docks after twelve hours' time, she had made her choice. Blake was no friend of hers. (AU, mainly Weiss-centric).
1. Black and White

_Maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!_

The words rung through Weiss' mind like a bell. It didn't even feel internal anymore; the noises came from everywhere. Multiple times, the heiress had looked around, expecting to see Blake right behind her. There was no one.

_I'm a victim!_

Weiss heard herself speak, too, the words sounding as clear as if they had just only come from her own mouth. They filled her with a sense of entitlement, of self-pity. She had lived her whole life in fear of the faunus of the White Fang. They were liars, thieves, and murderers. They were her enemies; they were a group of filthy animals hell-bent on tearing apart her family, a family that was fragile enough as it was, a family that had been warped and distorted into something horrible.

_And every day, my father would come home furious._

He had loomed over her like the shadow of a demon, pushing her, forcing her to be someone she knew she couldn't. He took out his rage on her, rage she would never forget. It hurt more than the blade of a sword, stung more than the freezing cold. She instinctively felt the scar on her face, the sign of her weakness, her imperfection. It was like a crack through which the world could see how vulnerable she really was. It was a mark of her suffering, a portal into her cold, dark world.

_And that made for a very difficult childhood._

It was their fault. It was the White Fang, the faunus, who had ruined her childhood, her life. They forced her to live in fear, staying awake most nights in constant terror, fearing that she would be taken from her bed, kidnapped, and killed. They turned her father into a monster, and drove the Schnee family into a dark place. Her suffering was their fault. They waged a war, and she was caught in the crossfire.

_You are a judgmental little girl!_

And one of them had been her teammate. Her friend. She wore a bow and kept to herself, hiding the secrets of her past. Weiss had been sleeping in the same room as a criminal, a terrorist, a faunus of the White Fang. She had helped her, cared for her, became her friend, and she was everything Weiss despised in the world. Yang expected her to simply forgive and forget, to kiss and make up. That would never happen. Because of people like Blake, her life had become a living hell, and she had frozen herself in ice to keep the flames at bay. Ice Queen, they called her. If only they knew. She wasn't just resting on a throne of ice; she was trapped in it. Warmth eluded her. With her discovery of who Blake really was, she was hit with a blast of cold, biting wind that seemed to tear at her skin.

_Do you want to know why I despise the White Fang? Why I don't particularly trust the faunus?_

They couldn't possibly understand why she was so cold.

* * *

"Dammit!" Yang was practically tearing out her hair. It had been twelve hours, and yet Blake was nowhere to be found. She and Weiss walked through the streets of Vale, looking everywhere, and yet there was no sign of their friend. Yang's friend. She wasn't sure whether Weiss really cared what happened to Blake, not anymore.

"It's been twelve hours. Why not call it a day? I'm sure she'll turn up somewhere, just like a stray cat." Yang's eyes flickered red, rage boiling in her head. She whirled around, her face inches away from that of the heiress, a scream of fury crawling through her through and bursting from her mouth.

"If you wanna quit so badly, then get the hell away from me! Seriously, I'm done with your bullshit, Weiss! I'm sick of listening to you insult Blake when she needs our help and support!" It took a few seconds for Weiss to respond, thrown-off by the outburst of anger as she was. When she recovered, however, her tone and her face were both just as intense as Yang's. Size didn't matter. Weiss' will was strong. She rebelled against those who would threaten her, her ponytail waving in the wind as a telltale sign that she wasn't the perfect heiress the world thought she was, that her family expected to be. Even the fiery anger of Yang couldn't stop her, couldn't melt the ice around her. While Yang's rage came in a flash, in an explosion of flame, Weiss' lingered like frost, so cold that it felt hot.

"Maybe I will. Maybe I'll just go, as you clearly don't want me around. I stayed out here because I thought you, my teammate and friend, might like some company, but clearly you don't. I, meanwhile, will go to inform the proper authorities about this situation, as we should have done long ago!" The heiress shouted back at her teammate.

"You're not going anywhere, if that's what you're gonna do," Yang snarled, moving even closer to Weiss.

"Oh, so now you want me to stay, all to defend your faunus friend!" Weiss put emphasis on the word 'your.'

"Her name is Blake, you racist piece of shit!"

"I know her name, dunce, but I felt the need to clarify that she's no friend of mine! She's a terrorist who hates humanity, just like the rest of the White Fang filth!" As Yang opened her mouth to reply, trying very hard not to punch Weiss square in the face, her phone rang. She closed her mouth, picked it out of her pocket, and saw who was calling. It was Ruby.

"Hey, sis," Yang muttered angrily as she answered the phone. Weiss stared at her with cold, piercing eyes, watching her take in what was being said by their leader.

"Wait, what?" Yang looked shocked, but not dismayed. Weiss could only assume that to mean one thing.

"You...you found her?!" Yang's expression suddenly became one of unbridled joy, while Weiss' morphed to one of disgust. After finishing her talk with Ruby, Yang grabbed onto her hand and dragged her away.

"You're coming with me, whether you like it or not." She, of course, did not.

* * *

Blake sat on a crate, telling Ruby everything that happened. The dark-haired girl nodded, gasped and almost cried at all the appropriate parts. She was taking everything in, absorbing Blake's past like a sponge. She cared. She truly cared. It was nice, for Blake, to have someone who cared. As she finished her story, with Ruby watching her intently, she looked past her team leader to see her other teammates. Yang looked overjoyed and Blake felt a jolt of happiness herself, but it faded when she noticed the expression on Weiss' face. It was one of disgust. Her usual cold gaze was filled with malice sharp as daggers, and her frown looked as if it had been permanently etched onto her face. She could tell immediately what was going to happen.

"Oh, there they are! Hey, she's alright! She actually stopped a Dust robbery! Pretty cool, huh?" Ruby called out to her teammates, who made their way over slowly due to Yang dragging Weiss along.

"Weiss...I'm done with the White Fang. I left them; I don't affiliate myself with them anymore and I never-"

"Stop." Blake had immediately got up to try and explain to Weiss what her life had been like. She wanted to say that she'd made mistakes, mistakes she'd never make again. She wanted her friend to know that she cared, that she wouldn't slit her throat as she slept. Blake may have been a faunus, but she was not a monster. She wanted to make sure Weiss knew that, but the heiress was hearing none of it. In her eyes, Blake was tainted.

"I don't want to hear any of it. I'm done with you, with your lies and with your defending of that group of faunus degenerates. If you stand against my family...you stand against me." Weiss, as she spoke, hadn't failed to take notice of the police car nearby, with two detectives standing by it. She recognized them. A few days ago, they'd seen the two men at the site of a Dust robbery, one committed by the White Fang. She could tell them what Blake was. She could put an end to this.

"Excuse me," Weiss said to Ruby, pushing past her. Yang immediately recognized her intentions, and dashed forward, grabbing Weiss and hissing into her ear.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"I'm doing the right thing." Ruby and Blake, as well, realized what Weiss was trying to do. The faunus looked horrified, walking towards Weiss in a daze, and Ruby hurried to her and started to plead.

"Weiss, please don't do this! She's not with the White Fang anymore, she's reformed! And she has cute kitty ears!"

"The ears of an animal." At this comment, Blake snapped out of her trance of fear, her terror replaced with anger. She had expected this from Weiss. She was a Schnee, the sworn enemy of the White Fang, oppressor of the faunus. This was what they did. Blake began to wonder whether Weiss was worth reconciling with at all.

"Maybe if you'd listen to me for one second like a rational human being, I'd be able to explain that I've changed. I'm not a criminal anymore, and I certainly don't hate humanity!"

"Listen to you? You!? You're a criminal! Why should I care about what you have to say!?" Weiss asked indignantly, as the two young women rounded on each other. Yang and Ruby stood, unable to enter the argument. It was something they didn't fully understand. Neither of their teammates explained their pasts in full detail, keeping their darkest secrets hidden. In Weiss' case, she kept most of hers out of sight. She and Blake were not only fighting with each other, but waging a war that had gone on for years. They were black and white, night and day, two opposite sides of the same coin. Their struggle ran deeper than themselves. Their feelings were more than personal. They had been molded by their lives, their pasts, the people they'd been with and the things they'd seen and done. And yet, Blake left her life behind, albeit cloaking herself with even more shadows, shadows to hide herself from the world. She hid in plain sight. Weiss still stood by her family, encased in an icy castle. She hid from the world as well, but not in plain view. She hid somewhere no one would ever be able to look.

"Oh, so I'm a criminal. All the faunus are criminals, in your eyes, aren't they? That has got to be the biggest load of hypocritical nonsense I've ever heard! Your family abuses the faunus, enslaving them in your Dust quarries, keeping them from the sun, forcing them to live off of pathetic scraps from a table made solely for the pampered and privileged Schnees, and when they try to fight back, to gain even the most basic of human rights, they're labeled as criminals? As degenerates? As pure evil!?" It was at this point that Blake found herself on the verge of tears. Nothing was going as she had, in the back of her mind, hoped. Roman Torchwick was working with the White Fang, helping them to commit petty crimes for a cause they probably didn't even believe in. What was supposed to be a reunion, an apology for leaving her friends, had turned into an all-too-familiar shouting match between her and Weiss. And what was even worse was that she didn't even think Weiss could be called friend anymore. Cold. That was the only word Blake could think of to describe her. Weiss was cold. She was full of hatred and fear. Blake's anger began to, ever so slightly, give way to sadness.

"My family doesn't rob Dust shops. They don't blow up and steal from train cars, and they certainly don't murder anyone they disagree with! Your kind started this war, remember!?"

"Started? It's been going on for ages, as long as the faunus have been oppressed by humanity!"

"Don't you dare play the victim here! You have no idea what my family has been through because of the White Fang!"

"It can't be worse than what your family does to the faunus in those mines! And don't think for one second that the Schnee Dust Company isn't involved in all kinds of shady business dealings. It sounds like you don't even know what your family is really after, much less the faunus!"

"Uh, I'm just gonna go now," Sun muttered, and for the first time, Weiss noticed the monkey faunus sitting nearby, looking extremely awkward. All the members of team RWBY whirled towards him, her especially.

"Oh no you don't! You're a criminal, and there are two police officers right over there. Do the math," the heiress snarled. Sun got up and backed away as she advanced on him. Blake grabbed her arm with more force than she intended.

"Some friend you got there, Blake. You might want to hang out with someone who's not a total racist bitch. Just a suggestion."

"You...You dare call me names!? After everything you've done!? If you think that I'd ever let a horrid, filthy-"

"Stop it! You have no idea what kind of person he is, and yet you're making all kinds of assumptions-"

"I know exactly what he is!" The two young women argued continuously as they walked. No one even noticed as Penny, who had been with Blake and Sun at the docks, was swiftly whisked away in a black car, sad to leave her new friends. No one noticed as Sun slipped off into a nearby alley, looking back at Blake wistfully. Ruby and Yang had hoped that Weiss might see reason, that she might accept Blake as a friend as opposed to a former member of the White Fang. Instead, nothing had changed. As they walked away with their teammates, becoming aware of an airship hovering above them, it felt like nothing would change. Only after the airship landed and Professor Ozpin walked out, requesting to speak with Blake, did the two sisters snap back to reality, a reality just as bleak as the future they pondered.

* * *

**I really want to just stop writing new stuff, and focus on what I have. I've already got two stories, and I should be writing them. But creativity marches on, and I just can't stop myself from having new ideas and wanting them to be put down somewhere. I can't help but think of Monty and his creative energy, how he was always working on something new. Sometimes that was more of a problem than a boon, as there are so many characters in RWBY and so far, very few of them have gotten any real development, even main characters. But it makes me happy to think of that. It makes me feel like his drive to create is how he lives on even after death, and it really is. The world he created spurred so many people to make new things themselves.**

**Okay, sappy stuff over. Anyway, this is basically a story that I had the idea for when I read a comment somewhere about how Weiss' quick acceptance of Blake was a disservice to her character, how it rushed what could have been long and meaningful character development. As much as I loved Weiss in episodes 15 and 16 (and as much as I love her in general because she's the best), I can't help but agree. Sometimes, I really wish that the writers had done things differently (no disrespect meant to Monty and the team, just something I think about). Thus, this story is an AU where Weiss doesn't come to terms with Blake's true identity quickly, where she instead continues to dislike her. It will be resolved in the end, but I wanted to see if I could make her development (which, sadly, happened off-screen) into something longer and more gradual.**

**Until RWBY starts again, and the issue of Weiss' discriminatory beliefs and difficult childhood are brought up in the story, things like this will have to tide me over. Reviews/criticisms are more than welcome, and if anyone has any stories similar to the one I'm trying to write, please let me know!**


	2. Isolation

Ruby, Weiss and Yang sat silently in their dorm. They were waiting for Blake to return from her conversation with Professor Ozpin. They weren't sure what to expect, what he might say to her. They wondered if he knew she was a faunus, if he had always known. Perhaps he even knew that she had been a member of the White Fang. The thought filled Ruby and Yang with dread, and Weiss with hope. Maybe she'd be arrested after all. Maybe she'd face judgement for the crimes she committed against humanity. Maybe, just maybe, her shadows would be stripped from her by the light, revealing her for what she was. Maybe Weiss wouldn't have to share a room with a terrorist.

_I watched family friends disappear, board members...executed._

The most powerful emotion in her mind wasn't hatred, not anymore. More than hate Blake, more than hate the faunus, she feared them. They were the monsters under the bed, the creatures who lurked behind every closed door and peered through every window. They were the ghosts of her nightmares, and they had been for most of her entire life. It was fear. Weiss tried to hide it, tried to hide her insecurity, but she could only hide from so many people. She could hide from everyone on the outside, everyone who looked into her frozen castle. But when she looked inwards, at herself, she saw everything. She saw her terror, her weakness. And where terror lurks, hatred is always close by. Like a small child hiding underneath sheets, pretending at being a ghost, Weiss used her rage to give herself a feeling of power. She used it to hold others back, to keep them from seeing how scared and vulnerable she really was. It was when people got close, when they invaded her castle, that she got hurt. It was when they sensed weakness that the monsters attacked.

"Blake!" Weiss was drawn from her thoughts by the squeal of her team leader. Ruby hurried to the door as Blake pushed it open, looking sad, angry, and confused at the same time.

"So? How'd the talk with Ozpin go?" Yang asked, walking towards the faunus, trailing behind her sister.

"It was...I'm not quite sure. He's a strange man," Blake replied.

"He really is! He gave me cookies when I first met him, not that there's anything wrong with that..." Ruby agreed, trailing off. As Blake walked past her two teammates, making for the bathroom to get ready for bed, she turned around.

"I just remembered...thank you, both of you, for standing by me. For not pushing me away," she said, her voice sincere, cracking as if she was going to cry, yet no tears came to her eyes. Ruby and Yang smiled at her, all three trying hard to ignore Weiss. They felt bad about it, albeit very slightly in the case of Yang, but Blake needed support and trust. If Weiss wasn't going to give it to her, it was best not to antagonize the heiress into starting another argument. Weiss ignored them as well, lying in her bed with her pajamas already on. She had nothing left to say.

* * *

Weiss lay awake, her eyes darting around the room and her neck craning so that she could get a view of Blake. She couldn't sleep. Each time she closed her eyes, her throat instantly felt cold, as if steel was being pressed against it. After a few more seconds, it felt warm, and she imagined a cascade of blood pouring down her neck, trickling down her shoulders and chest. She wasn't able to keep her eyes closed for more than ten seconds. After that, they shot open. A few times, her hand flew to her neck, tracing a line across it as if to make sure there was no gash there, no cut for blood to fall from.

_It's because they've been at war with my family for years._

Every noise in the room instilled her with a horrible fear. Every gentle breath her sleeping teammates took scared her, every time she moved and her bed creaked, she almost jumped. Blake shifted in her sleep, and Weiss sat up, hitting her head against the bottom of the top bunk.

_War, as in actual bloodshed._

Blake turned around, startled as well, and saw Weiss grabbing her forehead, massaging it. She hadn't been asleep, either. She'd been lying awake. The heiress briefly glared up at Blake before stepping out of bed and quietly exiting the room. The faunus wanted to say something, but found that her lips wouldn't move. There was nothing to say.

_My grandfather's company has had a target painted across its back for as long as I can remember._

She was filled with indignation, with anger. Weiss didn't trust her. Weiss wouldn't listen. She kept on pretending that Blake was a White Fang operative, that she was the enemy. No matter what she said, no matter how many times she tried to say that the White Fang was no longer a part of her life, Weiss kept refusing to believe it. And yet, it made sense. She knew the White Fang, and knew that Weiss' fears were more than justified. She couldn't bring herself to really feel anger. It was more superficial than anything, a gut reaction to the discrimination she had tried to avoid her whole life.

* * *

At lunch, the absence of team RWBY's W was quite conspicuous. Ruby and the rest of her team dined with team JNPR as usual, the two making awkward small talk until someone broached the topic of Weiss. So far, they had only seen her for classes, and she sat as far as she could from her team, left before they did, and was always lost in a crowd of people when they made their way out to find her. Jaune and his team were worried, as were Ruby and Blake, but Yang had a different reaction. The flame of her anger tended to burn bright, and it had not yet died down.

_She's a terrorist who hates humanity, just like the rest of the White Fang filth!_

Yang couldn't forgive her for the things she said and the hatred she'd displayed. It wasn't even about the faunus, not mainly. Yang just couldn't understand why she took her prejudice out on Blake. Weiss was judgmental and cold, but seemed to have been thawing. Yang liked to think that she knew Weiss, that the heiress cared enough about them to let them see who she really was. She had been wrong. In a way, Weiss' revelation was more shocking than Blake's. Yang always had suspicions about Blake, always thought that she was hiding something about herself. Blake was secretive and mysterious; of course Yang would be interested in what secrets she had to keep. Weiss was a different story. She was harder to understand. All she'd been, up until a few days ago, was a spoiled heiress. She was stuck-up, entitled, bratty, and quick to judge, all things typical of those born in sheltered wealthy families. At her core, however, she was a good person, someone willing to learn from the mistakes she made.

_You have no idea what my family has been through because of the White Fang!_

She was much, much more, and Yang wasn't sure how she felt about that. She had suffered, clearly, more than the average person, and yet was so cold and bitter that it was hard to sympathize with her. Whatever she felt, she took out on Blake. That was what angered Yang the most. Discriminatory as she was, Yang had thought that even she would understand that Blake was her friend. And yet, against her will, her fury began to fade. She couldn't hold onto it forever. Weiss' absence was worrisome, and spending so much of her life caring for Ruby, Yang had grown very protective of those close to her.

"So...where's the Ice Queen?" Nora asked, surprising almost everyone at the table. No one had expected her to present the topic, absorbed in her own world as she often was. Only Ren was unfazed; he knew Nora long enough to understand that there was much more to her than what people could see.

"Well...you heard about what happened at the docks, right?" Ruby asked. Team JNPR all nodded, listening intently.

"You didn't hear everything. There are some details that got kind of left out." At this, Blake flashed Ruby a quick warning glance, her eyes widening slightly. She knew what Ruby wanted to say, and wouldn't let her. No one else could know that she was a faunus. She hid behind her bow and her secrets for a reason. When leaving the White Fang, she intended to start a new life, one where she wasn't defined by her race, but by her actions. She donned her disguise due to a mixture of fear and hope, hope to be recognized as more than a faunus, and fear of what might happen should she shed her bow.

_It's because of people like Cardin, people like you, that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!_

Weiss, sitting alone, wherever she was, had tapped into that fear more than Blake would like to admit. It was the first time since joining the White Fang that she'd had a direct encounter with a human who knew who she was and who hated her for it. Or, to be more accurate, feared her for it. Deep in the back of her mind, she knew that Weiss wasn't like Cardin; she didn't outright despise the faunus. She didn't discriminate against them because of cruelty or a sense of superiority. She was afraid, just like Blake. She didn't admit it, hiding behind her cold, biting fury as she always did, but she was. There was no other reason for her inability to sleep while Blake was in the room. She was a target, even to this day. Yet her actions and her words stung, like salt poured into a wound that grew wider with every passing minute. Blake had felt the familiar sting of discrimination, and it hurt no less than when she'd dealt with it before.

"...I met this really weird girl named Penny! She was nice, though, and she was really strong! She was all like _swish! Swoosh!_ And her swords hit everyone and they were all like _aaagh! _And then, she shot this really big laser beam and cut open an airship and it was just the best!" Ruby said suddenly, taking Blake's warning into account. She sent her teammate a sad glance, and Blake mouthed silent thanks to her.

"Uh...not to sound rude, but how does this relate to Weiss?" Jaune asked, confused.

"I said she was weird, right? Well, uh...she kind of creeped Weiss out, so she's a little scared that she might show up. You know how Weiss can be; if she wants to be alone, she always finds a way," Ruby replied, laughing a little too loudly. She had no idea how true her words rang.

"Really? That's all?" Pyrrha asked, doubtful. The famous Huntress-in-training was always incredibly perceptive. Usually, it was a trait which Ruby and her team admired. Today, however, it simply frightened them. Today, they were in on one of Blake's many secrets, and while they were sure that team JNPR would accept her no matter what, they didn't want to betray her trust. She deserved better than that, and they couldn't reveal that Weiss and Blake had been arguing without revealing why.

"Pretty much, yeah. You remember how Weiss was when she first met Ruby? It was kind of like that with Penny. Of course, if my little sis hadn't decided to make friends with her when we clearly told her not to, Snow Angel might still be hanging out with us," Yang chimed in when her sister was finally unable to think of a convincing lie.

"Hey, she was really nice!" Ruby replied, feeling a little defensive of her new friend.

"And creepy. Remember how she just came up behind Weiss and was all like 'and I think Weiss' hair looks wonderful today!' That's what stalkers do, sis." Pyrrha's doubts were lessened by this; she did indeed remember how the heiress had reacted to Ruby when they first met. The conversation continued on from there, moving to other topics that had nothing to do with Weiss, and yet the three members of team RWBY felt as if a little of their teammate's coldness had rubbed of on them. They felt numb.

* * *

"Professor Goodwitch?" Weiss approached Glynda Goodwitch after classes had come to an end. Her appearance was as refined and elegant as ever. Her clothes were perfectly straightened, her nails perfectly filed, her ponytail perfectly adjusted, and her makeup perfectly applied. She looked as meticulous as ever, her appearance betraying no sign of fatigue. She used her makeup to cover the circles under her eyes, so that no one was aware that she hadn't slept at all the previous night. She had said nothing about her troubles to Ruby and Yang. Ruby had tried on multiple occasions to talk to her, and Blake kept glancing at her when she thought the heiress wasn't looking, but Weiss had shut them all out.

"What is it, Ms. Schnee?" Glynda asked.

"I was just wondering if...if I could have a different dorm." At this, Glynda looked at Weiss strangely, as if she didn't fully understand the request.

"Excuse me?"

"A different dorm. New living quarters."

"Why on earth would you want that?" Weiss sighed, not sure how to answer the question. Very rarely did she ask for something material without receiving it; it hadn't occurred to her, in her haste to ask, that she would not be granted special treatment at Beacon.

"Well...it's for a few reasons, really, but mostly, it's because I've been having a dispute with one of my teammates. I was hoping that some separation would be good for me," she replied after careful consideration, well aware that her reasons sounded shallow and unlikely to be taken seriously, but she couldn't tell Glynda about Blake. Her pride wouldn't let her. She couldn't bring herself to reveal her darkest fears, her deepest insecurities, not to anyone. Fear made her weak. It invited pity, and there was nothing worse than pity. She didn't want people to tell her they were sorry, that they'd be there for her, because she might believe them. And she knew that it was when you trusted others that they were able to hurt you the most. She had trusted her family. She had trusted her father. She had trusted Blake.

"Ms. Schnee, I'm surprised that you of all people would make such a request. I thought you would know better than to assume it would be granted," Glynda sighed, shaking her head.

"But-"

"If you're having issues with your friend, talk to them. I can't imagine what you might be upset about, though; you and your team seemed to get along very well." Weiss nodded, thanking Glynda for her time, and walked away.

* * *

Weiss was studying by the time her teammates got back to their dorm, talking lightheartedly. As soon as they entered the room and saw their teammate studying on her bed, sitting hunched over her books, Ruby, Blake and Yang ceased their chatting. Weiss didn't look up. After a few seconds of awkward stillness, Ruby moved over to their dorm window, now wide open, and closed it. The drapes ceased to blow in the wind like leaves on a tree, their swaying growing smaller and smaller until stopped completely. The room, however, was still uncomfortably cold.

"Weiss...what's with the window?" Ruby asked.

"I needed fresh air," was the simply, curt reply. Weiss didn't look up from her books.

"Uh...what're you studying for? You're at the top of every class," Yang asked, feeling slightly annoyed by the heiress' insistence on working so much. She never seemed satisfied, never seemed happy with herself as she was. She always needed to be better, to strive towards an ideal only she seemed to think was there.

"For now." Weiss seemed determined to keep conversation to a minimum. After Ruby and Yang spoke, Blake reluctantly took her turn. Looks from her teammates and a sense of longing within herself spurred her to action, but she knew it would be futile.

"Weiss, we need to talk about this. You can't avoid me forever." The thing she wanted most was to salvage her broken friendship with Weiss, yet her worlds were hollow. She knew that they were useless.

"I'm going to bed," Weiss spat angrily, almost as soon as Blake finished speaking. She walked from where she sat, put her books back in her bag, and moved back to her bed. She wrapped the covers around herself and lay beneath them. She was already in her nightwear.

"I know you didn't sleep last night. If the issues you have with me are that debilitating, this isn't something we can just let go. You need to talk to us," Blake tried again, the sad looks from her teammates making her try once more.

"Please, Weiss. Look, I'm sorry I got all pissy. Now I just want to talk, as a friend," Yang pleaded, hoping that perhaps she could convince Weiss to talk by reaffirming that she was still her friend. It was a true statement, not a lie told to comfort the heiress. Yang couldn't stay angry forever. Blake wasn't the only friend of hers who needed comforting.

"What if I order you? As team leader? You can't disobey the leader's orders!" Ruby tried to sound chipper and lighthearted, but fell horribly short. Her voice was too high pitched even for her. Weiss made no reaction, no motion at all. It was as if she was frozen over, an ice statue. Blake knew before the others; she wouldn't respond. She needed to be alone, or at least, wanted to. Blake could empathize with that.

"She's not going to respond," Blake sighed, drawing shocked glances from Ruby and Yang. She understood what they didn't. Weiss' struggles were similar to her own. They'd tried to talk to her enough; it would come to nothing. She had no more desire to play along.

"But-"

"Believe me, I know." Weiss felt a strange sense of familiarity, a connection she couldn't quite explain, and then realized who had spoken. The feeling faded as quickly as it had come. She already had a connection to people like Blake.

* * *

**Chapter complete! So, I made Weiss a little like Blake this chapter with her trust issues, but that's just the nature of the story. Weiss doesn't want to trust Blake because of who she is, and doesn't hang out with her team because she doesn't want to interact with her. Basically, Weiss is screwing herself over and bringing about the loneliness she fears so much. However, this doesn't mean I'm going to neglect Blake; I want to include her own self-destructive behavior in the story, so expect a little more Blake next chapter. After all, that was pretty much my favorite part of volume 2; it was a side of her I didn't expect to see, but it added so much to her character!**

**Also, I can't help but feel that volume 1 introduced so much interesting stuff about Weiss (her beliefs regarding the faunus and hatred for the White Fang, her relationship with her dad, insight into her family life, etc.) that all seemed to get ignored in volume 2. At least we learned about Winter, and got some insight into why she became a Huntress. I should probably stop thinking about this kind of stuff; it only gets me more excited for volume 3, which is a long ways away.**


	3. A Crack in the Castle

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Glynda asked Ozpin, not angry, but a little regretful. The physical gears in the headmaster's office whirred like the metaphorical ones in her mind as she processed what she had been told. Light fell on her from the window behind Ozpin, illuminating her as the events of days past were illuminating her thoughts.

"My apologies; I wanted to, but more important matters had come to light. If Roman Torchwick and the White Fang have truly allied with each other, and I confirmed that they have, Vale isn't safe. Vytal may not even be safe. For such a partnership to take place, something truly incredible must be at stake...and I don't mean this is a positive way. I spent most of yesterday trying to ascertain what the two may be plotting, and whether their partnership is truly of their own volition. The two hate each other; Roman has never thought highly of the faunus, and you surely know the White Fang's stance on humans, and allying with them. I have a bad feeling that someone else may be pulling their strings." Ozpin spoke calmly and apologetically; he usually told Glynda everything. She was his confidant, his second-in-command, and while he refrained from telling her as such, his first choice to take over his position as headmaster of Beacon Academy should he be unable to preform his duties for whatever reason. He truly did regret not informing her sooner, but had many other matters to attend to.

"I'm not angry, but I do wish you hadn't kept me in the dark. Ms. Schnee approached me yesterday with a request to change dorms. I have a good idea as to why," Glynda replied, her thoughts drifting to the heiress. She always had a soft spot for Weiss; she was the best student Glynda had seen in a while. She was patient, respectful, and always willing to learn. She preformed admirably in every undertaking; her attitude towards teachers was different from how she treated fellow students. And while she had a bad habit of insulting others with scathing words, she never went beyond that. She was far from a bully.

"As heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, she must have been placed under a good deal of stress and fear by the idea that she was a prime target of the White Fang. I imagine that she'd be reluctant to sleep in the same room as one who formerly stood amongst their ranks," Ozpin noted as if reading Glynda's mind.

"Considering her upbringing, I wouldn't be surprised if the argument she had with Ms. Belladonna was, in part, spurred by her own skewed views towards the faunus."

"Indeed," Ozpin said solemnly, seeming to be lost in thought. Glynda waited impatiently for a few seconds, expecting Ozpin to continue. She quickly realized that, as always, she'd have to push matters into the spotlight for Ozpin to take notice of them. Despite what some would foolishly believe, he was not omnipotent. He could only address so many problems at one time.

"Should we intervene?" She asked, blunt as always. It wasn't just in her words; her tone had a distinctive edge to it that suggested urgency. Glynda had a way of doing that, conveying what she thought through the sheer power of her voice. Even the distant and mysterious headmaster had to listen.

"We cannot solve every quarrel between the students. If you personally care for Ms. Schnee or Ms. Belladonna, however, I would encourage you to speak to whomever you feel most comfortable talking to," Ozpin replied seriously. He was being honest with her, she knew. He did care for the girls, or at least Blake. He had shown an interest in her ever since she arrived at the school. It was hard not to, given the odd circumstances regarding her entrance into Beacon. She had no family, only herself and her skills. And her skills were certainly undeniable. However, he understood which matters took priority and Glynda had to do so as well. She was not quite where he was; he had learned from painful experience to prioritize instinctively. Glynda still had to focus in order do so. She was a teacher, first and foremost, and her students were often her first concern.

"...Torchwick and the White Fang take precedence over a squabble. I suppose we'll have to let the matter resolve itself." Ozpin smiled sadly, nodding. Despite her prickly exterior, she had a kind heart. She was concerned for the students under her care, even if she came off as more strict than caring. She would truly be a more suitable candidate for his position.

"I apologize for involving you so deeply in my affairs, but...there are things I cannot do alone. I have tried, many times, and the results were less than satisfying. Perhaps Ms. Schnee and Ms. Belladonna will sort out this argument on their own."

"Perhaps. And Professor...I wish to be let in on all important information regarding my students from now on. I'm sure the other professors would feel the same," Glynda said as she walked out. Ozpin stared at her back as she exited his office, leaving him to briefly contemplate Blake and his colleagues. He would tell them about Torchwick and the White Fang. That would require him to mention her as well.

* * *

Weiss was not the only person on her team to isolate themselves, she noticed. As time passed, she realized that she was not alone. She avoided her team as much as possible, talking only to Ruby and Yang when she had to. Even when Blake was gone, she spoke to them only briefly, and their interactions were strained. When Blake was there, she said even less, and said nothing to Blake herself. She spent most of her time in the library or in training. As she wandered away from her team, hiding and sulking and studying, she saw another do the exact same thing. The library became a place she increasingly avoided; she had less trouble sitting with her team at lunch. Blake was gone most of the time, off doing who knows what. Weiss may have completely cut off contact from her former friend, but that didn't mean she didn't notice.

_Where's Blake?_

Weiss spent a few nights outside of her dorm, but Blake spent even more. She sat away from her team at lunch, and Weiss had worked her way closer to them. She never approached, however, hovering on the edge. She took to hiding behind the large figures of team CRDL, unperturbed by their tormenting of whichever faunus happened to sit nearby. Yet she never joined in.

_Is she in the library again? _

Blake often went to read or look up various things on the Scrolls available for use in the library. What she was trying to find out, Weiss didn't know, but one of her books was related to the White Fang. Weiss wondered what she was up to. Paranoia seeped into her mind, convincing her that Blake was planning something, yet she took no action. Weiss didn't truly believe it, not really. She knew, in some part of her mind, that her fears were just fears, nothing that existed in reality. Yet she clung to them, desperate for a reason to justify her increased sense of loneliness. Blake was keeping her away, keeping her afraid.

_She didn't sleep last night._

Weiss sometimes saw her late at night, prowling the halls in the cover of darkness. She hid when she saw Blake; her fears were greatly increased at night. She had taken to keeping Myrtenaster close by when she slept. Night was when she was weakest and Blake was strongest; the faunus could see in the dark. It struck Weiss as a fitting ability for degenerates who lived in the shadows, a group of criminals who waited until they saw weakness to lash out with their claws. They were strongest in darkness; that was taken away when they were exposed to the light.

_She hardly talks to us anymore!_

Blake said almost as little to her teammates as Weiss did, and when she spoke it was often in a harsh voice. She seemed upset at Ruby and Yang for something, something Weiss didn't know about or care for. As far as she was concerned, Blake meant nothing to her. The name made her think only of the White Fang. At least, that's what she told herself.

* * *

"Suck it, sis! I win! Now gimme all your shit," Yang said triumphantly, towering over a large board full of pieces that meant nothing to Weiss. Ruby was sobbing across from her, pushing her pieces to Yang with great reluctance. Weiss instinctively wanted to shout at them to be quiet in the library, but didn't wish to draw attention to herself. Besides, there were very few people around, only team RWBY, JNPR, and a few other students.

"I...I will never forget you, brave soldiers..." Ruby cried, her head face down on the table. Blake, who sat next to both of them, was running her finger across her cards absentmindedly. Even when she had taken turns, Yang or Ruby had mostly moved for her. She had less interest in the game than even Weiss, and yet she was playing. Across from them, Jaune looked eagerly over at the board as Pyrrha pushed a textbook into his hands and pulled a comic out from under them, immediately reading it. Jaune looked at his new reading material with dismay, but buckled down and studied nonetheless. Nora was sleeping on her textbook, drooling all over it, and Ren was the only person who seemed interested in doing homework. Weiss had always liked him.

The game went on, continuing for a few more rounds. Weiss continued to observe, her face covered by a book she couldn't care less about. She sat slightly behind and across from her team, in the perfect position to watch them and nurse her strange sense of longing. However, a bookshelf partially blocked her view, so she failed to see two young men walk up to the table and begin to make conversation.

* * *

"What's going on, ladies? Trying to conquer Remnant?" Sun asked, looking excitedly at the board in front of him. Ruby, Yang and Blake had just stared a new game, and he was interested in playing. Jaune looked over with jealously, but Pyrrha was paying close attention to him despite seeming to be engrossed in the latest X-Ray and Vav comic. If he tried to leave, she would know and bring him back.

"Trying? I've just done it three times in a row," Yang said proudly, as everyone except for Blake waved to Sun and the fellow student beside him. He was an attractive boy with bright blue hair that was groomed to look as if it hadn't been, and goggles on his forehead that, on anyone else, would seem ridiculous. Somehow, he seemed impressive enough to pull the look off. He was quite eye-catching, even if one didn't find him attractive.

"Hello, Sun! Who's your friend?" Pyrrha asked, polite as always. The blue-haired student nodded at her in return, smiling brightly.

"This guy? He's Neptune. Just some loser I know," Sun replied in his usual flippant and joking manner. Neptune took it in stride.

"How flattering. Anyway, Sun and I have been friends since we were kids. We're even on a team, SSSN. It's nice to meet you guys. I've heard a lot about you all...particularly about you, Blake. Sun talked about you a lot," he said, looking directly at the cat faunus. She glared at him, her eyes narrowed in an unpleasant stare. She quickly turned back to her cards, leaving Neptune looking surprised. She had black circles under her eyes, almost as dark as her hair, and her eyes themselves seemed to stare holes into his head. It was as if she was staring past him and at some invisible object off in the distance.

"Uh...you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine, and I'm leaving," she snapped, not looking at him. Everyone watched her go, and Ruby called out to her.

"Blake! Hey! We still have to beat Yang and take Remnant! I promise I'll let you win when we beat her!" She yelled frantically, getting up and walking after her friend. Yang looked at them go, her expression one of worry, but stayed nonetheless.

"She's putting herself under a lot of stress lately...she's worried about Torchwick and the White Fang. She was at the docks, after all. Blake saw firsthand what they were doing," she explained. While everyone knew that she had been present during the incident, along with Sun, they had no idea what had led her there or that she was really a faunus.

"...Damn. That's, uh...that sucks. Really," Sun muttered, turning back to see if Blake was still walking away. She was gone from sight, as was Ruby. They were both incredibly fast, even when walking. He wanted to go after them, but knew that he was never one for comforting. That required seriousness, and that was something he lacked.

"I hope she's alright," Neptune added, looking back briefly as Sun had.

"She will be," Yang said confidently, not talking solely about Blake. She hadn't seen Weiss at all today; despite her distance from the team, that was quite rare. For quite some time, she and Ruby had been sad. They had mourned the broken friendship of Blake and Weiss. Lately, however, they were beginning to feel less regret and more determination.

* * *

Sun, Yang, Ruby and Neptune had played a few rounds of Remnant: The Board Game after their brief talk, Jaune joining in for one. Much to Yang's frustration, Neptune won every match. Her risky strategy was falling to his calculated moves and affinity for planning ahead. Jaune also did quite well, although she managed to take him out of the game. Sun was horrible at the game, which was unsurprising to Yang, but he was also quite entertaining. When the fifth round started, everyone planning to topple Neptune however possible, the blue-haired young man announced that he was going to leave the game.

"It's been fun taking over Remnant four times, but I think I'm gonna go walk around, you know, take in Beacon and all that," he said. Sun laughed loudly, waking Nora and causing her to slap Ren in the face as her hands flew from the table and up in the air. He fell from his chair and onto the floor, leaving Nora wondering where he had gone. While Ruby and Yang's attentions were directed towards the comedic scene playing out at JNPR's table, Sun and Neptune kept talking.

"And by 'take in Beacon,' you mean prowl for hot girls, right?"

"Woah woah woah, dude, don't say 'prowl' ever again. It makes me sound like a total creep! And secondly, don't say 'hot girls' either. Say 'attractive young women.' It's classier."

"Yeah, because I care so much about class. I don't even button my damn shirt!" At this, Neptune's half-serious indignant scolding was replaced with a loud chuckle. He slapped his hand on Sun's shoulder affectionately, and used it to push himself up on his feet.

"True that. Anyway, are you coming with me? Just flash those abs and any girl's gonna be all over you," he said, his invitation genuine. Like most things, flirting was often more fun when done with his best friend.

"Nah, sorry. I'm gonna see how well I do at taking over Remnant without you killing us all."

"Suit yourself. See you later, then. Get a win for me." With that, Neptune walked off straight towards where Weiss was hidden.

* * *

Weiss heard every bit of the conversation. Mostly, it meant little to her. If he saw her, he was sure to come over. Boys, and sometimes girls, had a habit of coming over to her. They were interested in her wealth, her family name, and her near-perfect appearance. Never had they expressed interest in Weiss herself, and so she had rejected all who came up to her. Some, she could dissuade politely. Others awoke her ire, and were told off more harshly. Regardless, she had succeeded in making herself a cold and intimidating prospect in terms of possible romantic partners.

However, part of it also alarmed her. She didn't wish to make small talk for fear of revealing her team. Then, Neptune would ask why she wasn't with them and quite possibly drag her over. She didn't wish to endure that. So, she waited in stiff silence, not bothering to look over at Neptune as he walked by. She tried to bury her face as deep into her book as she possible could, hoping that she wouldn't be recognized. Such hopes were dashed quickly, however, as she heard footsteps grow closer to her.

"Excuse me, but would it be alright if I sat down?" Neptune asked, prompting Weiss to look at him. His appearance was nothing special to her; most people would see him as attractive, yet she had never quite thought about people's appearances in terms of attractiveness save for her own. It was only his bright blue hair and seemingly out-of-place goggles that caught her eye, and even then she didn't let her thoughts linger on them for long.

"I have no right to stop you," she acquiesced, indicating a seat across from her. She put down her book, took a small breath, and prepared for the irksome flirting.

"I'm sure you don't believe for a second that I don't know you, Weiss. Is it okay if I call you that?"

"Of course."

"Anyway, you caught my attention. I'm not ashamed to say that. You probably know just as well as I do that you're absolutely gorgeous. I'm guessing you put a lot of effort into how you look, being heiress to the Schnee Dust Company and all."

"Thank you." Weiss was wishing that Neptune would leave. Come to think of it, she was surprised that he hadn't stayed to woo Yang. She had a way of catching people's eyes, of drawing them to her. It wasn't just her appearance, but the confidence with which she carried herself. If Neptune was looking to flirt, and he certainly was, he had just walked away from his best option.

"Also...if you don't mind me saying, you were totally hiding behind that book. I'm drawn to people who hide." Weiss was hiding, more than Neptune could and probably would ever know. The remark hit her harder than she would have expected.

"Why might that be?" She found herself asking, a little more harshly than she had wanted. Neptune smiled wider, unperturbed by her increase in hostility.

"It makes for a mystery, and I do love the mysterious. I'd heard a little about you around Beacon, too. People call you 'Ice Queen.' They say that you're intimidating. Well, I think that the people who are the hardest to get to know are the most interesting when you finally talk to them."

"Excuse me?"

* * *

Weiss was taken aback, and not simply by what Neptune said. She had often thought about her own isolation. She'd been contemplating how she sat away from her team, alone. She missed them, although she found it hard to admit. She had no reason to go back to them. Blake was frequently absent now, more so than she was. Weiss could talk to Ruby and Yang, alone and unencumbered by the faunus' presence. She could figure out exactly how she felt about Blake, and whether her taciturn teammate scared her, angered her, or made her feel a different kind of emotion entirely. Yet she didn't. She never made a move. It felt so easy, to be alone. It came naturally, like slipping into a worn pair of shoes. It was much harder to try and reconcile with people she had left, repair friendships she had hurt. That would take effort and courage, the latter of which Weiss lacked.

Yet, here she sat, with a boy who seemed interested in her. Not just her name, or her appearance, or her wealth, but her. He wanted to see her as she was, no matter how many books she held in front of her. It wasn't romance she wanted; she had promised herself that she wouldn't even consider the prospect until she had figured out more important aspects of her life. It was the idea of companionship that entranced her, the chance to fill the absence that giving up Blake's friendship had left. She wouldn't have to be alone.

"Did I offend you in some way? Should I have just quit while I was ahead?" Neptune asked, sounding calm on the surface but internally, was a little nervous. He tried quite hard to seem desirable and appealing, to stand out from the other boys around him. He worried if he had done that too well, and he worried even more that his anxiety would cause his cool exterior to fade.

"N-no...no, not at all. I'm just surprised; most people aren't this forward," Weiss hurried to say, not wanting to lose her chance. Little else mattered to her now; she just wanted to rid herself of the painful loneliness that plagued her mind. If fixing what had been broken was too hard for her, perhaps she could start over with a new relationship. Anything, she thought, to stop being so alone. She had tasted real friendship, the love of having people who truly cared for her. She had given that up when Blake revealed what she really was. The betrayal stung her, the idea that she had been trusting a former member of the White Fang hurt her. It made her want to hide deeper than ever before, to protect herself from the pain and humiliation that came with having her trust shattered.

But ever since she'd felt the joy of trust and belonging, she found that the once powerful castle she had built around herself was collapsing. She couldn't go back to the way things were. It was strange to her, the feeling of such a strong need.

"Well, I'm glad to be unique. Anyway, let's start with the basics...well, the basics that I don't already know: what's your team?" Weiss sighed internally, wanting to lie, but knowing that it would only make for more questions should the truth be found out.

"RWBY. Yours?"

"SSSN. Anyway, if you're on team RWBY, why not join them?"

"I like to study, and they like to play board games. The two activities don't go well together," Weiss said simply, hoping that her reply would be enough for Neptune. It was.

"Well, I can't say I disagree. With preparations for the Vytal Festival, we're gonna have less time to study than ever. Best get it in while we can, huh?"

"Indeed." Weiss and Neptune talked for a little longer, their conversation mundane but enjoyable, when Sun called out to Neptune.

"Yo, Neptune! I'm heading out. You coming?" Neptune sighed and got up, still looking at Weiss.

"Well, my BFF calls and I must respond. It's been really nice talking to you. Sun likes hanging out with your team; I'm sure we'll be able to talk again soon. Although, I've gotta say...it's nice just hanging out one-on-one." Weiss had almost forgotten that Neptune was Sun's friend. That would present complications, she realized. It hadn't occurred to her, but she realized that her arguments with Blake might come to light, and if they did, Neptune might not be so willing to talk to her. Not if he found out that she detested the faunus, faunus like his best friend. It scared her, more than she wanted to admit, and she simply nodded at Neptune, managing to give him a small smile to make sure that he didn't sense something was wrong. He walked away, waving, and moved out of sight. Weiss, for her part, packed up her things and walked in the opposite direction.

She needed to walk, alone, with her excitement and fear. She had absolutely no idea how to deal with her emotions; she had rarely ever felt these particular ones before.

_My heart cannot be turned to stone. _

* * *

**Chapter 3 is all done! ****While I really liked the first two chapters, I felt mixed about this one. I'm not sure how good the writing is or if I got across what I wanted to. I also realize that Weiss and Neptune's interaction was a hell of a lot different than in the show, but I wanted to give him some more depth as well as a deeper connection with Weiss. Through him, I'd like to reveal Weiss' new inability to deal with the loneliness she'd grown so accustomed to. I'd like to hear what any potential readers have to say, as always! Anyway, for next time, I feel like I should focus a little more on Blake, draw some more parallels between her and Weiss' situation, so I might do that. I can't quite say. I know how this story will end, but I need to work out the details. **

**Also, writing RWBY is rekindling my love for the series (and for the one and only Ice Queen, Weiss Schnee)! I might rewatch it again or something. **


	4. A Light in the Darkness

Blake sat alone in her room, having abandoned the game she had been playing with her team. She hated the game; it infuriated her. Playing with a fake world, trying to control it, made her realize just how little progress she was making in the real world. She couldn't control Vale, much less Remnant. Vale was in control of Roman Torchwick and the White Fang, and there was nothing she could do to stop that.

_The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together!_

The words still hurt to think about. The White Fang were much, much more than 'very misguided,' as she had labelled them. They really were little more than terrorists now, abandoning their ideals and allying with a human. They had no greater purpose but blood, and neither did the man who had taught her, the man she'd once idolized.

_Goodbye._

Blake wondered, often, how he was faring without her. She and Adam Taurus had left on poor terms. He had bared his madness to her and she fled it, and not just his madness, but the madness of the White Fang. Now, they suffered a new kind of madness and she knew that Roman was the cause. She needed to know just how far the White Fang had been corrupted, just how far Roman was going to take them, and just how much damage they were going to do. She had left them because she disagreed with them; now she had a chance to stop them and make something of her new mission to make the world a better place as a Huntress.

_They're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!_

It hurt Blake more than she cared to admit how right Weiss was. Any semblance of nobility the White Fang had was gone, and now Blake had a mission to stop them. She didn't believe in them, in Adam, in what they fought in, and so she would fight them. She would not wait, would not sit quietly and graduate from Beacon, would not spend four years honing her skills against the Grimm when the real threat was right in Vale. She had been taught subterfuge, secrecy, the ability to hide in shadows. Adam had shown her the art of death, how to kill and not be killed.

Blake was no child playing a game. She knew that the war was real, and she was in the best position to do something about it. Even if Ruby and Yang didn't agree, she would go on her own. Even if Weiss kept hiding away. Weiss, who had moved from Blake's sight and so from her mind. Blake was, these days, singleminded in her goals. If she couldn't see something or someone, she often didn't consider it. And she hadn't seen Weiss, not really, for some time. The heiress was awake, dressed, and ready to go before Blake was. She exited when Blake awoke. They didn't sit together, didn't talk, and generally acted like they didn't exist to each other.

Yet she sensed something. She sensed eyes on her back. Blake thought, perhaps, that Weiss was watching her. The faunus didn't know how that made her feel. Rarely had she thought about Weiss these days. Once, her thoughts were occupied by sadness, regret, and anger. She was despairing the loss of such a close friend; Blake often found Weiss easier to talk to than most others at Beacon. She was willing to have serious discussions, a rarity among Blake's current circle of friends. She was easy to tease besides.

Blake felt regret at the incident at the docks, and even before that. She wished that she'd never spoken up, that she'd let Weiss continue on her racist tirade. Even disregarding Torchwick and the White Fang, the night Weiss had rejected her was one of the most painful of her life. She had turned her back on a friend; never had a friend turned away from Blake herself.

Blake felt angry that Weiss was so stubborn, so stuck in her ways, that she refused to see that the person she shunned and even feared was really a friend. Blake never wanted to hurt Weiss, she wanted to comfort her and assure the heiress that the White Fang was no longer a part of her life. Blake had rejected them and their beliefs. She was a friend, but Weiss had pushed her away_._

_Why couldn't she open her eyes? Why couldn't she just see who I am, beyond the damn ears?_

Blake thought those things, once. Once, she would have been overjoyed that Weiss seemed to regret ending their friendship. Now she didn't care. She had only one thought, one obsession, and that was stopping Torchwick and the White Fang for good. She would not play at war, she would be an active participant. She'd fought once, for a side she wished she hadn't. Now she had a chance to fight for her beliefs once again, and this time she would make the right choices.

* * *

"Ugh. You know, I really don't like that guy."

"That's just because he beat you at World of Remnant."

"Oh, shut up!"

"Make me!" Ruby and Yang were never quiet. Blake could tell they were going to walk in a room before they actually did. It usually amused her, but now she had no time for amusement. She rarely did these days. Hoping to leave their boisterous noises behind and think on her own, she went for the door, only to find it already opening. Ruby's smiling face was right in front of Blake's frowning one, and their eyes met for a split second before Blake attempted to soldier past.

"Wait wait wait...are you okay? Why did you just leave? Why didn't you wait up for me when I tried to catch up to you?"

"I'm fine."

"If you were 'fine,' would you be leaving us all the time? We see you almost as little as we see Weiss these days."

"I have better things to do than play board games."

"Like what? If it's so important, tell us. We're your team, Blake. We're on your side," Yang said, stepping behind Ruby and moving forward. The two sisters forced Blake back into the room; there was no way around them.

"Being on the same team and the same side are two different things," she said suddenly, not quite sure why the words came out. Perhaps it was the brief thought of Weiss that ignited some of her old bitterness. Ruby and Yang both picked up on this.

"...Okay, so maybe you have a point. But I think we're more than a team. We know who you are and what you've been through. We listened to you when you said not to tell anyone...because we're friends. Weiss hasn't told anyone either, and I think that counts for something. Tell us what's wrong, and we'll back you 200 percent," Ruby said quickly, almost going in for a hug. The younger girl quickly stopped herself, and settled for an awkward grab of Blake's hand. She waved it around a little, silence falling over the room, until Blake pulled her hand away and stepped back. She knew full well that every word that came from Ruby's mouth was genuine, but was still unsure. The younger girl never could take things seriously.

"Let's just talk, and see what happens from there, okay?" Yang said, moving to stand next to her sister. Yang, Blake felt, was wiser. She would not display the levity of her sister , at least not as much of it, and possibly convince their leader to treat the matter with proper respect. Weiss, of course, would have listened intently, even if she rejected the idea. At least, if it wasn't Blake talking. Regardless of whether she was there or not, however, Blake decided not to hide the source of her anxiety.

"Ever since the docks, we've known that Roman Torchwick is working with the White Fang. And, ever sine the docks, we've done absolutely nothing about that. We know things most people don't; we can stop him and the White Fang. I've been thinking about the issue for a while, ever since I stopped being so...distracted." All three girls knew what Blake meant. Once she stopped thinking about Weiss, she started thinking about the White Fang.

* * *

Weiss heard voices coming from the dorm, voices that stopped her in her tracks. She heard yelling from Blake, and the quieter voices of Ruby and Yang trying to calm her down. She only heard snippets of what they were saying, words like 'Torchwick' and 'stop' and even 'White Fang.' She couldn't lie; she was intrigued. It seemed as if Ruby and Yang were finally confronting Blake about her absence and increasingly antisocial mannerisms.

_Better her than me._

Weiss didn't want to talk to any of her teammates. Or, more accurately, didn't want the wanting. It was alien to her, and it made her feel uncomfortable. It made her feel a vulnerability she didn't understand, and vulnerability of any kind was repugnant. Her team could sort out its issues without her. She would, as she sometimes did, wait for Blake to leave before entering. Turning away to wander towards her usual hiding corner, she hardly had time to take a step before the door opened. The heiress was frozen dead in her tracks. She had a good idea of who had opened the door.

"Blake, don't...wait...why are you just standing there?" Yang asked, moving next to the faunus. Her eyes widened as she saw what Blake saw.

"Weiss?" Weiss was thinking furiously, trying to find a way out of her situation. She knew that Ruby was coming to the door; there was no way she wouldn't. For the first time in months, team RWBY would all be in the same area, in the same conversation, outside of their training. No excuses could be made. There was nowhere to go and nothing to do. Weiss had nothing with which to disguise an escape.

"I...sorry to interrupt, uh, whatever you were doing, but we kind of need you here. This is a team thing, Weiss. Please don't leave," Ruby said, peeking her head from behind her sister's shoulder. The heiress still hadn't turned around, and Blake had still said nothing. Ruby and Yang waited with bated breath, hoping beyond hope that they could finally have their team back, that they could put together the shattered pieces of their friendship. Weiss just wanted to be alone, but she couldn't have that. She wasn't behind the massive walls of her family's mansion, she had no myriad of rooms to hide in. She could not call everything she saw her own. She only had one room, and that room held something even more terrifying than the prospect of loneliness.

"...I have nowhere to go." Weiss turned around, looking at Ruby full in the face. The eye contact made the younger girl smile brightly. She did the same to Yang, who didn't grin but instead sighed in relief. Ruby pushed the door open wider, inviting Weiss in, and she entered. All the while, Blake just stared at her, or through her; she couldn't tell. She stared everywhere but at the faunus, ignoring even her presence.

* * *

"We need to do something about them," Blake said, speaking more to herself than anyone else, but it didn't matter who she addressed. Weiss still heard, and she heard everything before as well. Ruby, Yang, and even Blake seemed to be waiting for her to speak, and perhaps even interrupt, to make an irritable criticism of the plan. She didn't, and that filled them with hope. They wanted Weiss in the room with them for more than just discussing Blake's plans with the entire group. Perhaps, if Weiss heard Blake's determination to stop the White Fang, she could bring herself to bridge the gap between them.

"How?"

"...What?" Weiss' teammates had heard her perfectly well. They were just startled that she wasn't immediately berating Blake for coming up with such a risky course of action.

"Well, that's what we're gonna figure out, silly!" Ruby said, the first to speak after the shocked silence. She tended not to spend as much time contemplating, so she filled that time with action. It was hard to keep someone down when they were constantly moving forward without looking back. She grinned almost comically at Weiss, overjoyed that team RWBY seemed to be coming back together. However, like Weiss was apt to do, she said only a few words and everyone's hopes were dashed.

"How would we plan to take out a criminal organization all by ourselves?" Blake was the first to respond, her and Weiss' issues secondary in her mind. She wouldn't give up, and perhaps it would be better if Weiss stayed out of the matter. Her cold lack of passion conflicted with Blake's own heated obsession, and the faunus had no time for conflicts.

"We cut the head off the snake. We don't need the bring down the White Fang, just Roman. And I'm not looking for your approval, so don't delude yourself into thinking you can stop me." Despite the tension in the room, Yang could feel her spirits rise with every word Blake said. She liked seeing her teammate so determined, so full of life. She had been so distant, and it felt good seeing some color return to Blake's face. Still, she would feel even better if her teammate would just go to sleep.

"I love it when you're feisty! Now how about we recharge those mind grapes of ours and talk about this in the morning? You can't bust Torchwick's head when yours won't even stand straight." Yang had seen how Blake was dangerously close to dozing off in class, one of the few times in the day that she couldn't avoid her team. Circles adorned her eyelids and Yang could see her losing weight. She needed rest much more than she needed to take down Torchwick. Seeing her up close was jarring, more jarring than she let on. And unlike Weiss, Blake had no makeup to hide behind. It was as if, ever since the docks, her secrets came spilling out of her whether she liked it or not. Her fixation, her hatred, they were all visible, written upon her face. Yang shuddered as the word fanatical came to her mind. Blake was fanatical about Torchwick and the White Fang.

"I have to plan."

"I never said I was a part of this!" Weiss protested, but she was unheard.

"I'll do it!" Ruby volunteered, not far behind her older sister in noticing Blake's self-destructive behavior. Ruby could be remarkably observant when she wanted to, and for the past few months she had wanted a great many things. Team RWBY, for its leader, meant a great many things. It meant safety. It meant security. It meant home. Ruby had wanted to enter Beacon as a normal girl.

_With normal knees. _

Her teammates, her friends, made her feel normal. They made her feel like she had a place at Beacon, and the rift that had formed between Weiss and Blake had fractured her team. Ruby was too young to fully remember her mother's disappearance and the effect it had on her, but she imagined that it must feel remarkably similar to the emptiness that had been with her for months, and she knew Yang felt the same way.

"I can't trust you with this," Blake said decisively. She had difficulty thinking of anything beyond her own desires, and felt justified in her assurance that Ruby was not competent enough with research to be trusted. Ruby, of course, was offended by Blake's lack of faith. Yang was too, but she had other plans as to who would lead the operation.

"Then I'll do it. Just rest up, because tomorrow we start our attack," Yang said in a voice just lower than a shout.

"You can't just ignore my point! This whole affair is completely delusional!" Weiss snarled, angry at not being noticed. Strangely, throughout the entire conversation, she didn't exit the room. She could have walked out, leaving Ruby, Blake and Yang to talk on their own, but stayed. And not only did she stay, she never even thought to leave.

"Ice Queen, can it. If you're so concerned, then you can research with me."

"I-"

"Shut up and be my study buddy." And with that, Weiss was dragged from the room, leaving Blake and Ruby to stand there and gape at how Yang had so deftly handled the heiress.

* * *

Yang had taken charge in their room, and it felt good. She felt happier than she had in a long time. After such a long time spent sitting around and watching her team fracture, she felt like she couldn't bear another second of Weiss and Blake promoting their own agendas. They refused to listen to her and Ruby; they refused to listen to each other. So Yang would force them. Blake's own unhealthy obsession, oddly enough, had given her the perfect opportunity. She would drag them, kicking and screaming, down a road of her own making. A match had been struck in her mind and now she burned, burned with a desire to right what had gone wrong.

"I can walk just fine on my own two legs!" Weiss hissed in a low but scathing voice, trying to free herself from Yang's grip without waking anyone up. Most people, after all, were surely asleep by this time. Yang let her go, and true to her words she did walk behind the blonde, almost as singleminded as Yang was. Weiss didn't like being dragged around, neither physically nor metaphorically, and she could tell that Yang had a master plan formed in her mind, however loosely it might be put together.

"So you can. Woo-hoo," Yang said absentmindedly, her mind jumping from one place to the next. She didn't know quite what she wanted to gain from going to Weiss to research, if that was in fact what they would end up doing. She just wanted to yell, to scream, to shout and express all of the anger she felt at Weiss. It bubbled from the moment she entered the room. She refused to support her team, opposing them at every turn, poking holes in their plans and completely ignoring Blake on top of everything else.

_This whole affair is completely delusional!_

Yang was tired of Weiss being as distant as possible, as non-supportive as possible. She had thought, even back when she first met Weiss and wanted nothing more than to punch the haughtiness out of her, that she was a supportive teammate. She saved Ruby's life. She went along with her plan. She swallowed her pride and let Ruby lead her team. She even looked for Blake when she'd gone missing. But ever since the incident with the docks, Weiss acted as if team RWBY was toxic to her, that they were her enemies because Blake was her enemy. Or, to be more precise, her family's enemy. For as long as Yang had known the heiress, she was a mouthpiece for her family, talking about their greatness, their power, influence, and all they had accomplished. It was as if she couldn't live outside the Schnee shadow. Yet she had, for months, ever since being integrated into team RWBY. And it seemed like she wanted to go back to the way things were.

_I never said I was a part of this!_

Ruby and Yang weren't stupid. They could notice how Weiss had been straying closer to them when they ate lunch, when they studied in the library, or even when they went out to enjoy the shops and scenery of Vale. They could tell she wanted to be let back in the fold, but something prevented her, and Yang couldn't say what. She didn't want to be alone, yet it seemed to come so naturally to her. She didn't hate Blake; Yang was sure of that. And yet, she stayed away from her teammate. The fear of the White Fang, the hatred of the faunus, the lure of loneliness, all were things that seemed to stem from Weiss' past. She couldn't move on. She kept herself from being happy. And Yang had had enough. Not even sympathy remained.

* * *

Yang and Weiss walked to the library. The massive walls and elevated ceiling gave the area a formidable appearance. It looked foreboding and uninviting, even intimidating. It reminded Weiss of her mansion back in Atlas. It reminded her of the dark walls lined with shadows, the tall rooms that made her feel so small and insignificant. It made her shiver.

"Come on, Weiss, let's go. You're not still scared of the dark, are you? Afraid of the spooky ghosts?" Yang played to Weiss' pride, and the heiress made a point of shoving past the blonde to enter the library. The two young women found themselves in darkness, with only the light of their Scrolls to see by. They held them up, and while Weiss stood, unsure of what to do, Yang flashed her light in the heiress' face.

_Yeah, screw research._

"Ow! What is wrong with you?!" Weiss hissed, shielding her eyes.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you?"

"Excuse me?!" Weiss took on an often-utilized disbelieving attitude, befitting of her easily insulted character. It was an attitude she often took when offended, as if she couldn't believe anyone would dare speak out against her. It was one of the minor annoyances Yang found in her character; she would berate others and react harshly to criticism of herself.

"No, there's no damn excuse for you, because you're being a total bitch."

"...What on earth did you just call me?"

"A bitch. Because you are. And it pisses me the hell off."

"You...you dare-" As Weiss was breathing heavily, shocked and highly offended by such a vulgar insult, Yang marched on, intent on keeping her quiet.

"Let's review, shall we? You run from your team, you treat Blake like a criminal-"

"She is!"

"Not anymore, and last time I checked, you're not the one who wants to take down Torchwick and the White Fang! Anyway... you mope and whine to yourself, you act like your damn life would be in danger if you so much as spent a single second with me, Ruby, and Blake...and by doing that, you make your life shit and then blame everyone else for it!"

"My family-"

"Oh, I don't give a shit about your family! Big bad papa Schnee isn't hear to make your life 'difficult.' He can't do shit to you. The White Fang isn't attacking you at Beacon because you're safe, guarded by your friends and some of the best Huntsmen and Huntresses Vytal has to offer. You have every opportunity to change your life and let go of your past but for some reason you don't!" Yang was feeling more satisfied than even she thought necessary, but adrenaline and the look on Weiss' face kept her going.

"You know, I really don't buy your whole racist bullshit. I think you're just scared of the White Fang and you hate them and you take that out on the faunus. I think that because your family hates and exploits the faunus, you think you should too. And I think the only thing keeping you from changing your life is that you're stuck on your family. Well, guess what? You're Weiss first and a Schnee second! So act like the Weiss I know, or thought I knew, and...and please be a part of team RWBY again! Please."

_Who's the loneliest of all?_

As Yang finished talking, her voice cracking as if she were going to cry, Weiss had a split second of doubt. It faded and her anger returned, anger at Yang and Ruby and Blake, and with anger came defiance. But the thought that kept her from interacting with her friends, that kept her by herself, was called into question for a single, meaningful moment.

_I'm the loneliest of all._

But was she? For that single instant, Weiss didn't know.

* * *

**So I figured I'd update this story and get it finished, especially because volume 3 just came out and I'm feeling RWBY withdrawal. **

**And speaking of volume 3...WHAT THE HELL OH MY GOD YANG BLAKE WEISS PYRRHA NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO! PYYYYYYYRRRRRRRHHHHHAAAA! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**

**Okay, now I'm done. **


	5. Close to Home

"I thought that class would _never _end." Blake paced back and forth in team RWBY's dorm, impatiently adjusting her clothes. The team had all donned more appropriate attire for leaving school, and Blake chose to wear black pants and a white shirt that bore her midriff. Of course, she still donned her bow to hide who she was. Weiss noted the outfit with distaste, and quickly turned her thoughts to Ruby as her leader announced her intention to go over their plan.

"Alright, team! Operation Kick Torchwick's Butt is underway! Now, let's review what we're gonna be doing. Weiss?" Ruby beckoned for Weiss to begin, and so she did, hiding her anxiety well. She had no wish to partake in the mission in general, but was even less enthused by her current role. She hid it from the group, of course, as she always hid her deepest fears, and no one could hear the slightest trace of dread in her voice.

"You and I are to go to the Cross Continental Transit center to find out about any other robberies of Schnee Dust or other inconsistencies in the record of their Dust shipments. My influence should ensure that this poses no problem," she said, knowing full well that the documents they wanted were confidential and would be denied to any but members of the Schnee Dust Company. Weiss, as the heiress, would fall loosely under that category, but she knew that she couldn't avoid attracting attention. It was a risk she agreed to take, but not without hesitation. She didn't want her activities noticed by her father, because then he would surely want to contact her. Weiss wanted nothing less. She was in no emotional state to have to deal with that man, and she feared he would see that. Never did Weiss feel more vulnerable than when she spoke to her father.

"There are White Fang meetings scheduled regularly around Vale. I know some popular sites the White Fang uses, and I can infiltrate them easily. I just have to find out which sites are still in use." Blake spoke with businesslike efficiency and urgency. She wanted to begin as soon as possible, a desire Weiss did not share.

"I've got a buddy who runs a bar in the shady side of Vale. He's usually up-to-date on what all the hottest criminals are doing, so hopefully he can give us some tips on what Torchwick's planning." Yang spoke with easy but fiery confidence, and Weiss had a feeling that she was fully expecting to have to beat the information out of her 'buddy.' It was most likely the same man she mentioned paying a visit to during the weekend Blake ran off with Sun.

"Great! After we finish, we'll meet up with Yang and go over our info. Now as soon was _Yang's _done primping, we'll get started," Ruby said, acting annoyed to tease her sister. Yang always did take an exorbitant amount of time to do her hair.

"Hey, looking this good isn't easy...not that you'd know. The only thing you primp is your scythe." Blake wasted no time in walking to the door and standing next to it as Yang finished with her hair and she and Ruby got into a minor argument. The faunus was looking at Yang with a dangerous look, one that would make most people step back a few feet if caught in Blake's line of sight. She had stressed the importance of getting an early start, and tried as hard as possible to get Yang to ensure she wouldn't waste time getting ready. But while she was anxious to get going, Weiss, for a number of reasons, was contemplating just how foolish their mission was.

She and her team were going to attempt to bring down Vale's most notorious crime lord, and with him the White Fang. It was like a dream, a childish and impossible dream. Weiss' family had struggled against the White Fang for decades. Four Huntresses-in-training couldn't hope to make a dent in their operation, but Blake foolishly kept believing they could. Of all people, Weiss would have thought Blake would see sense. However, as the incident at the docks had proven, she never really knew her taciturn teammate.

_It's this kind of fanaticism that drives the White Fang!_

The White Fang, too, believed in a foolish cause. They would see no reason, hear no reason. They fought for domination behind a guise of freedom. Why, Weiss wondered, was Blake so heavily deluding herself? And what did she really want? She knew that she was giving Blake more thought than she had in some time, and found that thinking about her former friend was like thinking about a stranger. She could no more say what Blake was going to do than she could have predicted the arrival of Sun and Neptune.

* * *

"What's up, ladies? You gonna kick some White Fang ass? Count me in!" Sun dropped into view from above the window, most likely hanging onto something out of sight with his ever-useful tail. He had his legs crossed as if he was sitting down, and crossed his arms while still looking as relaxed as possible.

_What the hell is he doing here?!_

Weiss wasn't the only person to be startled by Sun's arrival. She, Ruby, and Yang gasped in surprise, while Blake's eyes widened even as her mouth kept shut.

"What the hell, man?! Do you usually hang outside of girls' windows while they're getting dressed?" Yang asked indignantly, taking her hands from her hair and curling them into fists. Like most, she had no tolerance for perverts, and her infamous temper only added fuel to the fire. Ruby, for her part, simply seemed surprised that Sun was there. Not one for speculation, she reacted only to what she saw. As such, she jumped to no conclusions. Blake was largely unreadable, and Weiss her own anxieties about Sun's sudden presence.

_He clearly broke the law! Give him time; he'll probably join up with those other faunus in the White Fang!_

Weiss mistrusted faunus on principal, and she despised criminals. Combine the two, and her mistrust and hatred created a cocktail that exacerbated her fears. Her experienced with faunus in general were defined by the White Fang; the faunus labor so often employed by her family never spread the Schnee mansion, and Weiss had only been given restricted access to the Dust quarry. Whenever faunus were mentioned in her household, the words 'White Fang' were never far behind. They were faunus with no regard for the law, and Sun perfectly matched that description.

"You _cannot _be here! Not under any circumstances! _Get out_!" Weiss hissed, still as a statue. Ruby was quick to notice her unusual alarm, and could see that Sun being there made her uncomfortable.

"...You really should leave. This is team business only; we don't want anyone else involved," she said gently but forcefully. Weiss was already reluctant enough as it is, and Sun getting involved might push her away from the operation for good, and so far, the operation was all Ruby had to keep team RWBY together. Ruby's external cheer was not matched internally; she found herself worrying about Blake and her obsessive behaviors, and about the looming threat of Weiss walking away from their plans and going off by herself, as she had been doing for so long. Ruby could only be so happy that her team was together again. She was too scared that they wouldn't stay that way.

"That's dumb. You should always get somebody else involved! Especially if they're awesome like me." Weiss glanced briefly at Ruby, and felt a pang of gratefulness. She was glad that her teammate was coming to her aid, even if it would come to nothing.

"And me! Don't forget the guy freezing on the ledge," a voice rang out faintly. The familiarity of it made Weiss jump, startling Ruby, who was the only person paying attention to her.

"Weiss?" The younger girl was ignored, drowned out by Yang's temper.

"Really? You brought friends?!" She shouted, moving to the window and glancing out of it. Sun moved his head so she could look around more easily, and to her right she saw Neptune standing on the edge of the building.

"Yo. Uh...can I come in? I don't wanna be a pancake," he said, pointing to the ground below and shivering, both from cold and nervousness.

* * *

Weiss, upon hearing that Sun had brought Neptune, found her fears greatly abated. Sun wasn't alone. He brought a friend, and a friend Weiss could trust at that. She took deep breaths, trying to calm the fear rampaging through her mind like a Deathstalker.

_I'm safe. There's nothing to be afraid of. Neptune's here, he's not a faunus, he's not White Fang, he's a friend. I'm safe__._

Weiss repeated the mantra in her mind as Neptune shuffled his way into the room, much to Yang's dismay. She already disliked him for beating her at World of Remnant, and now he and Sun and snuck up to her room.

"Hey, Weiss. Nice outfit. Very classy," he said, giving her a little wave. Weiss nodded in thanks, and smiled slightly. That caused Ruby and Yang no small amount of surprise. They hadn't seen Weiss smile in quite some time. She ignored them.

"Thank you." Sun dropped down besides Neptune, swinging into the room with his tail, and gawked.

"Wait..._she's _the girl you met yesterday? Really? Ice Queen?"

"...I prefer Snow Angel, but yeah. She is." Weiss, although one fear had largely subsided, felt that another one was rising. She had wanted to avoid Sun finding out that she and Neptune were friendly. If it were to come out that she disliked Sun, especially if the topic of his race should be brought up, Weiss feared what that would mean for her friendship with Neptune. It would cause another relationship to be torn apart, and she didn't know if she could deal with that. Her hopes had, just the previous day, been ignited with the smallest of sparks. That spark had grown quickly, and now a fire raged in Weiss' mind. But she knew full well there was always enough cold to snuff it out.

"Talk, later, answer questions now. What the hell were you two assholes doing up there?!" Yang, fortunately, had come to Weiss' rescue indirectly. She still wanted to know what Sun and Neptune had intended on doing, and if they really were just here to watch her and her friends dress. She wouldn't put it past them, particularly Neptune. Weiss internally thanked her teammate, not caring that the blonde hadn't intended to save her from an unpleasant situation.

"Yeesh, relax! We weren't here to peep," Sun said, backing away from Yang.

"We are reputable gentleman and would never engage in such behavior! Well...maybe Sun doesn't really fit the first part, but he's cool. He was just worried about Blake and wanted to check in," Neptune said, his tone confident, but his body language indicating a healthy nervousness. His eyes kept flitting to Yang's gauntlets; he had heard that she was dangerous if angered, and experienced some of her temper the previous day.

"Worried?"

"You guys aren't the only ones who noticed something was up with her," Sun said seriously, his face losing all traces of amusement for the first time since his arrival. Of course he'd notice. They were birds of a feather, him and Blake.

"I'm worried as well...about Torchwick and the White Fang. We need to get going, with you or without you," Blake said quickly, opening the door and preparing to step out into the hall. She would wait no longer, that much was clear. Weiss was, although she tried to pay Blake little mind, unnerved by the rigidity of her train of thought. Every word that came out of her mouth was curt, impatient, and almost always relating to Torchwick and the White Fang in some way. But while Ruby and Yang were worried for their teammate, Weiss was disturbed by her. Every moment she spent with Blake served to remind Weiss how little she knew the faunus.

"With me it is. I'm gonna go no matter what; Neptune and I didn't climb up here for nothing." Ruby and Yang took a few seconds to stare at the monkey faunus before nodding. It would be useless to deny Sun, and he and Neptune clearly came up to their dorm with good intentions, albeit an invasive method. Besides, they supposed, having someone to keep Blake out of trouble would be helpful. Sun flashed them a brilliant smile and walked up to Blake, holding out his arm jokingly. She ignored him and walked away, but didn't try to outpace him.

"Okay, Sun's with Blake. Neptune...uh...you go with Yang. Team RWBY...SN, move out!" Pronouncing the SN like Sun's name, she grabbed Weiss and dragged her off. Yang looked at Neptune and grinned, not petty enough to dislike the idea of travelling with him simply because he beat her at a board game.

"You ever been on a motorcycle before?" She asked. Neptune shook his head. He smiled back at her, cool as ever and happy that she was no longer angry, but inwardly disliked the idea. Weiss noticed the exchange and was reminded of the ease with which she spoke to Neptune the other day. It was, consequently, a desire for companionship rather than any sort of jealousy that motivated her to speak.

"Ruby, couldn't Neptune and I-"

"Groups are decided, Weiss! Time to move out!"

"But-" Weiss looked back at Neptune, her gaze tinted with regret. He smiled apologetically at her and waved.

"Woah. Does Weiss actually wanna spend time with you? She never wants to spend time with anyone these days," she heard Yang say before turning out the doorway and stumbling alongside Ruby, who let her go and began to walk more briskly without the heiress' added weight. Yang's assertion wasn't true, not entirely. Weiss just didn't want to spend time with her team. It brought back bad memories.

_At least Ruby doesn't ask too many questions._

Weiss, in a rare display of optimism, supposed that if she couldn't be with Neptune, Ruby wouldn't be so bad. She certainly wouldn't rant at her like Yang had the previous night.

"Pick up the pace, slowpoke! CCT, here we come!" Then again, Ruby was annoying in her own special way.

* * *

An hour after she and Ruby left, Weiss walked up to the CCT tower alone. Ruby had been so excited to go see the tower, one of her favorite sights in Vale, and yet she had abandoned Weiss. Still, the heiress knew that it wasn't a malicious or completely thoughtless move on her leader's part. Ruby had seen Penny, and according to Ruby, she was acting strange, as if she didn't recognize the pair. Ruby was understandably alarmed. These days, she felt more disconnected from her friends than ever. Weiss could certainly understand that.

_One teammate has a one-track mind, while the other fails to use hers. Brilliant._

Even so, Weiss felt bitter and betrayed as she entered the tower and made her way to the elevator. It was especially crowded today, as students were surely using the weekend to make calls to their parents, siblings, or friends. While they flocked to whatever computer was open, Weiss moved with deliberate slowness, her mind running hypothetical scenarios in her head, all involving her being forced to speak to her father.

Weiss knew that she would be put through to a receptionist, and undoubtedly, the receptionist would either report her activity to her father, or perhaps even offer to patch him through to him. It was in the event of that scenario that Weiss had wanted Ruby to accompany her to the CCT. It was why she felt strangely vulnerable when her teammate left.

"Welcome to the Beacon Cross Continental Transit center. How may I assist you?" A female voice rang out in the elevator, snapping Weiss out of her thoughts. She glanced around the large metal area, her Scroll loosely held in her hand, and Weiss remembered why she had come. She could have turned back, of course, and part of her wanted to, but she had grudgingly agreed to help. Weiss would honor her word. That, and going through records would surely prove an effective distraction from the powerful discomfort Weiss found herself grappling with ever since she woke up.

"I'd like to go the communications room, please." As per the following instructions from the voice, Weiss placed her Scroll above the green, rectangular panel protruding from the elevator's right wall. After a second, a beeping noise signaled that her identity was verified.

"Of course, Ms. Schnee." The elevator began to rise, and Weiss felt her breakfast rise with it. She felt almost nauseous. She hadn't spoken to her father since she'd left for Beacon. He would know she was unhappy, and he would gloat however he could. He would act pleasant, even businesslike, but every word he spoke would be intended to goad her into returning to Atlas, to admit that her decision to go Beacon was foolish. She had to put on a grin and bear her suffering internally, chain it to her mind and heart so the outside world couldn't see. For most of her life, it had been easy. But for the past few months, she was more transparent than even she knew.

The elevator continued its ascent, and Weiss attempted a few of her most cheerful smiles. Her facial muscles felt strained, even sore. Her lips seemed dry and cracked. Her teeth were tightly pressed together, as if she were a cornered animal bearing its fangs. Everything about her attempts was superficial, awkward, painful even. Her face fell into a frown as she tried to keep her mind focused on the task ahead instead of on her instinctive fears. The likelihood of an encounter with her father was slim. All she needed to do was get the records onto her Scroll and leave. It was that simple. Still, she almost jumped when the elevator doors opened, and the massive room around her was revealed to be filled with people who, if they simply looked, could see her fear clear as day.

* * *

_Make the call, get the records, get out._

Weiss repeated her mantra in her head as she sat down by one of the terminals and made her call. She tried to block out the noises of students greeting their families and friends. She tried to block out their laughter, their small talk, the easy, almost automatic, phrases that they so often used. 'I miss you.' 'I love you.' Weiss found it all so irksome.

"Hello-ah, Ms. Schnee! It's good to hear from you again. Are you calling to speak to your father? I could patch him through to you."

"No, no thank you," Weiss said almost aggressively. Still, she kept her voice in check well enough that the receptionist, whose plain but pretty face she could see on her screen, went quickly to the next question.

"Very well...did you want to speak to your sister, then?"

_Winter._

Weiss had all but forgotten about her older sister. Home brought back painful memories, and painful memories involved her father, and her father held a special place of terror and weakness in her mind. But home also had fond memories. Not many, but they were there, whenever Weiss looked closely enough to see them. And all were made with Winter Schnee. Winter was Weiss' inspiration. She advised her to leave for Beacon, to escape their father's scope of influence. Winter, throughout Weiss' childhood, tried her best to make her sister happy. Winter had helped her stand when she fell. Winter had given her hope. Their relationship was strained, but so was every meaningful relationship in Weiss' life. Winter, above all, offered comfort, love. She was someone who Weiss could always turn to in her loneliest moments.

"Yes. Yes I would."

* * *

**Alright, chapter complete! Now I gotta get to wrapping up Ever After; I'm so close!**

**Also, I've been rewatching RWBY, and I cried when Pyrrha was talking to Jaune during the dance and said that she made friendships 'that will last a lifetime.' Having watched volume 3, that line is like a stab in the gut.**


	6. Shapes in the Blizzard

"Oh...really? Ah, very well then! I'll contact her. It may take a few minutes to patch her through, though." The receptionist was surprised by Weiss' willingness to speak to someone from her family. She avoided contact with her family whenever possible; at least, through electronic correspondence. Weiss did send Winter letters every so often, unbeknownst to all but the two sisters, whenever something important occurred. It had been months since her last one.

"Thank you." Weiss smiled as the feed went white, showing her a screen that had instructions to wait as she was being put through to a different channel. She grew more excited with each passing second, and just knowing that she was going to talk with someone she felt comfortable with was a massive relief. She felt cooler, but not cold, as if she'd been wearing too many layers and had to take some off. She was more at ease than she had been in a long time, and it seemed almost as if she was pulling something out from within her, not forcibly, but gently. She had to physically exhale in order to fully actualize the feeling, it was so strong.

"Weiss. It's a pleasure to hear from you after so long." Winter's face flashed onto the screen, her voice entered Weiss' ears, the smile on her lips was infused into Weiss' mind.

"Weiss...you're crying."

* * *

Weiss was unaware of the tears until they reached her mouth. She suddenly tasted the salt and felt the warmth running down her cheeks in smooth, slow lines. She had cried, she realized. She cried almost as soon as Winter appeared on the screen, and Weiss realized that she should have done this much sooner. While the world was cut off from Weiss, hiding in her impregnable castle, her sister had the only key. At least, the only one that was given. There was no other person who Weiss ever thought could understand her, who she could trust with her deepest fears and weaknesses.

"I...I just..."

"Let's dispense with the pleasantries, shall we? I believe, intentionally or not, that you have given rise to a much more important matter than small talk. You're not alright, and I want to know why. I had believed that any issues you had with your place at Beacon were resolved some time ago." Weiss had inherited much from Winter, and for the most part she took pride in those qualities. Bluntness was one of them. Winter spoke formally most of the time, but had a curt and concise way of brushing aside all but her own current matters of interest in a conversation. She wasted no time, and spoke with the efficiency that she carried in every aspect of her life.

"...Of course." Weiss wiped away her tears quickly, slightly mortified at having cried in front of Winter but still feeling better for it. She said nothing for at least ten seconds as she tried to compose herself, to soothe her emotions so she could accurately tell her story. For the first time in months, she acted on her urge to speak, to say what she felt and give voice to the rift that had formed between herself and her team.

"I told you about my teammates, correct? Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao Long, and...Blake Belladonna." Weiss found it somewhat difficult to say Blake's name out loud, but saying it gave her a strange sense of connection, as if she could see who Blake was to her before the bow came off. Yet it faded as quickly as it had come.

"You did, yes." Winter found them all acceptable, based on Weiss' descriptions. Ruby had gone from 'a stupid child with no place at Beacon' to 'a fine leader and a better friend,' Yang had transformed into 'a caring young woman' from 'a brutish girl,' and descriptions of Blake had evolved from 'a rude and suspicious person,' to 'the most intelligent person on my team.' She wondered what had changed that Weiss had been unwilling to write.

"...Blake has a bow on her head. Underneath that bow is a pair of...feline ears. She's a faunus..." Weiss, at the last second, opted not to mention her White Fang affiliation. If she mentioned such a thing to Winter, Blake would not remain at Beacon for long, and Ruby and Yang would be furious at best. She had no wish to further increase their divide. It did dilute the meaningfulness of her message, but Weiss was never the most open of people. Secrets were a family trade of hers, and the mind palace that held hers had rooms not even Winter knew existed.

"A faunus. I see. And why should this pose a problem?" Winter asked, as emotionlessly as possible. She did not share her sister's discriminatory views, but didn't want to start an argument that would undoubtedly drive Weiss away. She knew better than almost anyone why her sister grew to think the way she did. She'd been much the same, once. But her father's influence had not spread as far. With Winter, he had not yet mastered his child-rearing technique, and that allowed her personal freedoms Weiss had not enjoyed. That, and of course, the White Fang was not a worldwide threat. In fact, for some of Winter's life, it was still an organization promoting peace. She had not grown up with all of the fears her sister was taught.

"Why? You know why. You know full well that the faunus have done to our family. To humanity," Weiss almost spat out her reply. She was not wholly surprised that Winter didn't think the way she did, but feared above all else an argument about the faunus. It was such an argument that had driven her and her team apart. She would not replay the same catastrophe.

"...I know what the White Fang has done, yes," Winter said, her deliberate distinction between the faunus and the White Fang not unnoticed by Weiss. Neither of them further pursued the matter, and Weiss suddenly felt the need to justify herself. She had left out the most important part of her fallout with Blake, but now she wanted to explain it further without mentioning directly the cause of her anxieties. She wanted Winter to know what truly hurt her.

"It's not just that, Winter. Blake isn't who I thought she was. Not just her race, but who she is as a person. I didn't know her like I thought I did, and who she really is...it scares me." Weiss almost felt like crying yet again, but bit her lip and kept herself relatively in control of her emotions. She would not cry a second time. Still, it was hard. She was taken back to sleepless nights spent wandering the halls of Beacon, spent lying in bed and keeping watch over Blake, spent fearing what would happen should she close her eyes.

"She scares you? Weiss, if she's hurt you in any way, you need-"

"She hasn't hurt me. We've...we've avoided each other. And I've avoided my team, because she was with them, but now she's even more distant than I am and I still can't go back!"

"Go back where?" And this was the part where Weiss found herself at a loss. Weiss couldn't, or more accurately, didn't want to explain what it was that kept her isolated.

_You have every opportunity to change your life and let go of your past but for some reason you don't!_

Yang's words came back to Weiss coated in fury. Yang had no right to speak the way she did. She had no idea how difficult it was for Weiss to live with a former member of the White Fang in the same room, every night, as she tried to sleep. She had no idea how much her family had suffered because of them, because of people like Blake, because of Blake. Weiss was just as much a victim as anyone else, and Yang had just done her yet another wrong.

And yet, the words still arose in her mind. She couldn't bring herself to be rid of them, because she knew that they made sense. Weiss could have gone back to Ruby and Yang. Blake had left them just as much as she had. She had no excuse save for one she was loathe to admit. So, if she was going to explain herself, she would do so as extensively as possible. Maybe she wouldn't feel quite as foolish.

* * *

"Do you remember when we were younger, and I always pestered Father about getting us bunk beds?" Weiss began, causing Winter a small amount of surprise. She didn't know where her sisters was going, but knew she had to listen. Weiss talked about herself little enough as it was; at least, not about herself as a person. She spoke of her skill, her intellect, her status at Beacon, her interactions with her friends, but never herself.

"I do."

"And do you remember that he always said they were too dangerous?"

_And of course I said the same thing to Ruby._

"And that you were too old for that sort of thing?"

"I do." Winter did indeed remember how her and Weiss' lives split apart. Their father had different plans for them. Unlike Weiss, Winter was only briefly considered as the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company. For reasons not even her father disclosed to her, he had ruled that path out of her life. Instead, he sent her down a different one. To further strengthen Schnee ties to the military, he had Winter train to become a Huntress, go to one of the academies in Atlas as soon as she was able, and then be transferred into the military upon graduation. Atlas, already infamous for its military's involvement with the school system, was eve more happy to allow Winter a place among their ranks. She was the daughter of one of their greatest benefactors, after all.

But time away from home allowed Winter time to think and experience life beyond the boundaries set by her father. She used such time to develop her own views, see the world her own way, and by the time she joined the military, she had a different plan from her father. She had heard that the famous General James Ironwood often traveled to Vale, specifically Beacon, as part of his work. Supposedly, he and Beacon's headmaster had business together. Thus, that became her goal. And when she heard about Weiss' desire to go to Beacon and become a Huntress, she did her best to encourage her sister despite their father's wishes. Weiss would forge her own path, as Winter had been too late in doing. She needed to leave Atlas, and so a few years after Winter had moved up the ranks to become Ironwood's second-in-command, Weiss did just that.

But she had found much more difficulty throwing off her father's influence.

"I know how hard you tried to help me. I know how you slipped me letters under my door, how you sent me little souvenirs from the academy. Without you, I don't think I ever would have come to Beacon. But...Father did his best to ensure that we grew up separate. And while you were sent away to school, he made sure to keep me where he could reach me. He would always twist me back when I made a wrong turn on the path he set me down...this isn't anything you don't know." Weiss knew that she was taking her time getting to her point, and she was so grateful that Winter didn't hurry her. But eventually, she knew she had to say what she was thinking.

"What I'm trying to say is that I think I got used to it. Being alone, I mean. So when I left my friends, I didn't try to go back. They tried to bring me back, for awhile, but eventually they stopped. And then Blake began her own...isolation. So I kept staying away, not making amends, because that's what felt natural. It felt too hard to try and change the way things were. Just thinking about it scared me. It still does." Winter listened patiently, her expression remaining the same throughout much of what Weiss said. The younger woman waited for her sister's reply with bated breath, not sure what she was thinking. She loved Winter, but found that sometimes it was hard to connect with her, to understand her. She was not as transparent as Weiss herself tended to act when she was around.

"So the girl who left her family, left her home, to go study at Beacon is scared by talking to her friends?" Weiss frowned, breathing out, not surprised by Winter's reaction. Still, she was annoyed. Winter sounded like Yang had the previous night, and Weiss found herself reacting angrily to the tone Winter took.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" She snapped, glaring at the screen. Winter sighed before replying, knowing her comments had not been particularly helpful. Like Weiss, she was known for her cold attitude, and recognized that she could speak harshly and disregard the feelings of her listeners.

"I don't mean to trivialize your struggle, because I do understand. Or, at least, I think you acted sensibly. I don't agree with what you did, but don't think that I fail to respect how you must have felt. In fact, some time alone may have been good for you. But from what I can tell, you want to be back in the company of your team. Perhaps not with Blake, but certainly with Ruby and Yang," she said, changing her tone. Weiss nodded, her annoyance subsiding.

"...I just don't know if they would understand."

"And thus we find ourselves back at my point. Weiss, all you need to do to make Ruby and Yang sympathetic to your plight is to let them know exactly how you feel instead of hiding it. They can't see your suffering themselves. You have to explain to them why you've reacted the way you have, and I'm sure they would understand. Because, without explanation, I would imagine all they can see is...discrimination. You may not want to hear this, but at this point you make be the largest obstacle in your path." Winter chose her wording carefully, not wanting to offend her sister, but also wanting to convey her meaning clearly. The strategy seemed to work. Weiss clearly understood, as evidenced by the pained expression on her face.

"There are a lot of...complications with that." She said vaguely.

"You came to Beacon, didn't you? If you mustered up the courage to do that, then I see no reason it should be harder to speak to the friends you made there."

"I don't think I would call Blake a friend."

"Then start with those you think you can trust. Besides...if you feel that your relationship with her is worth salvaging, then you both need to make an effort. You can't hope to reconcile if Blake is following your same path."

"But she-"

"What could be worse, do you think? Fear of Blake, or fear of loneliness? Weiss, I implore you not to take such a question lightly."

* * *

The sky was dark, shrouding Vale in even more shadows with which to hide its secrets, secrets Blake had once been privy to. Secrets she still remembered. Blake and Sun had gone all around town, looking into locations she remembered as White Fang hideouts. Some, she surmised from investigation, had fallen into disuse. Others were now in use by legal organizations, and others still were ruled out by Blake on the grounds that they were not in ideal locations for secret meetings. Few words had been exchanged between the two, and almost all that had were said by Sun. Blake rarely uttered more than a grunt or an automatic phrase such as 'we're moving on,' or 'they wouldn't use this place.' Sun tried to talk to her about class, about her team, about the Vytal festival, but she brushed aside every word he spoke unless it involved the task at hand.

_Guess that's just Blake__._

Sun was in something of a reverse situation from Weiss. Whereas the heiress had cut ties with her teammate, Sun's efforts to get to know Blake were rejected by the faunus herself. And, unlike Weiss, he knew full well about the secrets Blake kept. Not just about the White Fang, but about herself. Sun had seen the fanatic obsession, the drive, the self-sacrifice she so casually made. He had grudgingly realized that Blake was not always someone you wanted to be around. In fact, at times, she could be frightening. It scared him to look at her eyes and see their intensity, see the dark circles caused by sleepless nights, see how fiercely she refused to value her own well-being. Sun could see that her time in the White Fang hadn't failed to make an impression on her.

He knew that their mission was an important one, one that had to be accomplished. But looking at Blake, he sometimes wished she and her team had never gotten the idea to stop Torchwick into their heads. More importantly, he wished she and her team weren't so horribly fractured. But they were, and he wanted to know why, after all these months, their situation had gotten even worse. He understood the pain of discrimination, but that didn't explain the rift between Blake and the rest of team RWBY. They were her friends. He thought she would see that.

"So, Blake...exactly how many warehouses have we checked? Seems like we checked out every single one in Vale," Sun asked after a yawn interrupted him from his thoughts. He noticed that despite her fatigue, yawning was something Blake never did.

"Not enough." Blake didn't even look at him.

"Uh...right. Gotcha. Not enough. And how much more is that than a billion?"

"If all you're going to do is complain, leave," Blake snapped, still with her back to him. They were in the process of making their way to another location, one that was a little ways off. Sun noticed that Blake occasionally walked lopsided, as if she were dozing off. Once, he even tried to catch her for fear that she would fall. Sun had learned not to do that again.

"Hey, no complaining here. I get to spend time with my favorite fa-uh, fabulous friend!" This time, Blake did look at him. Glared at him, to be more accurate. He was about to mention her race, and she would have none of that in public. As a former member of the White Fang, Sun could see why she would want to hide her identity, but at the same time he felt annoyed by her insistence on hiding her ears, like they were some kind of blemish she wanted gone. Still, he fell silent, unable to muster the will to say anything more.

* * *

**And...done! Crap, I'm really going with this story. I feel like I want to finish it because right now I'm just leading up to the part I want to write, creating tension and fleshing out characters. Unfortunately, I probably haven't spent enough time focusing on Blake, so I want to try and do that a little before I get to later parts. I did want Weiss to be the main focus, but in the end this is still her and Blake's struggle, and I feel like I've only been focusing on one part. **

**Ah, the first-world problems that middle-class fanfiction writers must face. Such a terrible struggle!**


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